Home
Advanced Search Map Locator
View Settings
Nurseries Carrying this Plant Add Current Plant To List Edit Current Plant
Show all Photos

About Calscape Nurseries
California Garden Planner Bay Area Garden Planner (NEW) Planting Guide
Butterflies My Plant Lists
Contact Calscape
Tap map to see plants native to location
Order by Popularity Order by Common Name Order by Scientific Name Order by # of Butterflies Hosted
Show nursery cultivars Hide nursery cultivars
Show plants not in nurseries Hide plants not in nurseries
Grid view Text view
Loading....
Giant Chinquapin
Chrysolepis chrysophylla
  
About Giant Chinquapin (Chrysolepis chrysophylla) 4 Nurseries Carry This Plant Chrysolepis chrysophylla is a species of flowering plant in the beech family known by the common names golden chinquapin, giant chinquapin, and western chinquapin. It is native to the Pacific coast of the United States from west-central Washington to central California. This plant is a shrub or tree. Shrubby forms of the plant occur in dry areas, higher elevations, and poor soils. The plant grows into a tree up to 45 metres (148 ft) tall in cooler, moister areas such as valley bottoms and north-facing slopes, and foggy and rainy areas. The bark is thin and smooth on young trunks; on older specimens it becomes thicker and platy. The open crown of the large tree is conical in shape. The leathery evergreen leaves are dark green on the upper sides and golden underneath. The leaves are folded upward along the midrib. The species is monoecious, with individuals bearing both male and female flowers. White male flowers are borne in the leaf axils, and a cluster of female flowers is borne beneath them. A spiny bur contains one to three nuts. There is generally a burl at the base of the tree. The tree may sprout from adventitious buds in the burl, a form of vegetative reproduction that is more common in dry areas where it is less likely that seedlings would become established. The tree may live up to 500 years.
Plant Description
Plant Type
Plant Type
Shrub, Tree

Size
Size
98 - 147.6 ft tall

Dormancy
Dormancy
Evergreen

Flower Color
Flower Color
Yellow, Cream, White

Flowering Season
Flowering Season
Spring

Wildlife Supported
 


 
Butterflies & moths hosted ( 4 confirmed , 7 likely * ) SHOW ALL

Landscaping Information
Sun
Sun
Full Sun, Part Shade

Nurseries
Nurseries

Sunset Zones
Sunset Zones?
1, 2, 3, 4*, 5*, 6*, 7, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18

Natural Setting
Climate
Climate
Annual Precipitation: 11.8" - 155.0", Summer Precipitation: 0.18" - 5.94", Coldest Month: 18.4" - 50.4", Hottest Month: 39.7" - 73.2", Humidity: 0.01" - 21.85", Elevation: 9" - 10940"

Alternative Names
Common Names: Golden Chinquapin, Western Chinquapin


Sources include: Wikipedia. All text shown in the "About" section of these pages is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike License. Plant observation data provided by the participants of the California Consortia of Herbaria, Sunset information provided by Jepson Flora Project. Propogation from seed information provided by the Santa Barbara Botanical Garden from "Seed Propagation of Native California Plants" by Dara E. Emery. Sources of plant photos include CalPhotos, Wikimedia Commons, and independent plant photographers who have agreed to share their images with Calscape. Other general sources of information include Calflora, CNPS Manual of Vegetation Online, Jepson Flora Project, Las Pilitas, Theodore Payne, Tree of Life, The Xerces Society, and information provided by CNPS volunteer editors, with special thanks to Don Rideout. Climate data used in creation of plant range maps is from PRISM Climate Group, Oregon State University, using 30 year (1981-2010) annual "normals" at an 800 meter spatial resolution.

Links:   Jepson eFlora Taxon Page  CalPhotos  Wikipedia  Calflora


Sign in to your Calscape Account X




Once signed in, you'll be able to access any previously saved plant lists or create new ones.

Email Address
Password

Sign In